The Search for Meaning and Morality
Before we can find our place in this world, we first need to understand my place. After all, how can we stand firm without first realizing that we can stand at all?
But what dictates my place? Is it something within my control, or is it something beyond me—something that shapes my existence regardless of my will?
It is my calling.
The moment we make the conscious decision to find our place in this vast universe, we often think it’s a sudden spark of self-awareness. But what if it isn’t? What if this realization was always meant to happen—at the exact time, in the exact way it did?
The Human Dilemma: Why Do We Search?
Have you ever noticed that humans are the only beings burdened by the question of purpose?
A lion does not wake up wondering if it was meant to be a hunter.
A tree does not pause to debate whether it should grow tall or wither away.
It does not question whether its branches should grow close together to shelter birds or spread apart to absorb more sunlight.
It simply exists, fulfilling its role without doubt.
But we? We question everything.
We are intelligent beings, created with free will. We can walk forward, take a step back, or carve an entirely new path. But why were we given this choice? What difference does it make?
The Power to Govern Ourselves
For starters, it means we have the ability to govern our own lives—to decide what principles we live by. And that leads us to the question of morality.
But morality itself is a vague concept.
What I consider moral may differ from you. What we believe may clash with them. Many hold onto the idea of do good, cause no harm—but can that truly apply in every situation?
What happens when our values conflict?
What do we compromise? Should we compromise?
If I agree to adjust my stance, and you refuse—what does that make me? What does that make you?
If we each live by our own laws, can anyone truly be held accountable for what is deemed wrong?
Is There Really a Right and Wrong?
Stay tuned for Chapter 3.